Alone and in the Rain
by Valier
Summary: On his way home from work, Ludwig finds Feliciano sitting alone in the rain, waiting for his brothers. Upon taking him home, Ludwig learns that he may have gotten more than he bargained for, but along the way, will his feelings towards him change? GerIta
1. Chapter 1

***dances* Oh yeah! I finally finished the first chapter to this! If you're reading, thank you for clicking and welcome to my first multi-chapter GerIta story! If you read _Ti Amo, Insegnante_, then it's good to see you again! :D Okay, so I won't keep you waiting much longer, I just want to make one thing clear to you. Whenever you see _italics_ in the story, it means the characters are either thinking, exaggerating something, or saying something in a foreign language ;) Just so ya know.**

**Disclaimer: Hetalia belongs to some person I can't remember the name of. He is a genius though :D He'd be the greatest genius of all though, if he'd just confirm that Germany is in fact Holy Rome and then GerIta could become canon ¬¬**

**TRANSLATIONS ARE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE**

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><p>Ludwig sighed deeply as his left hand moved to his tie, tugging it down a little and unfastening the top button of his shirt, being careful not to hit himself with his briefcase. All the while, rain thundered down on his umbrella, held in his right hand.<p>

_'Curse this rain,'_ he thought, _'and it came right in the middle of summer too! Oh well... at least it's finally the weekend.'_

And the weekend it was. Ludwig von Schroeder was the CEO of Axis Industrial, a big company in Germany that specialized in just about everything. Some called it a 'jack of all trades' company. As the head of the company, who's headquarters lay in the centre of Berlin, Ludwig's week consisted of multiple meetings and business deals, followed by meals at expensive restaurants with the heads of other major companies and house parties with billionaires who were interested in his work. That _was_ until the weekend rolled around.

Once the clock turned 6:30 on Friday evening, Ludwig would hand control of his company to Kiku Honda, his Japanese CFO (Chief Financial Officer) and good friend, until 9:00, Monday morning. At the weekend, Ludwig could relax and have lie-ins, not worry about work (unless he got a phone call from Kiku that is. But that only happened if something was urgently wrong.), and generally let his hair down.

As he walked past the park he often passed on his way to and from work, he felt the rain get heavier, interrupting the string of thoughts that were planning his weekend.

"_Schei___ße___..._"he muttered, crossing over the road to try and get a little shelter from the trees that flared their leaves and branches out over the gates of the park. The thundering on his umbrella lessened slightly and he kept walking, thankful of his new shelter. As he passed the gates, he paid no attention to where he was walking and tripped right over the legs of someone sitting next to them. He quickly tried to regain his composure, putting one foot in front to ensure he didn't fall over. His head darted around, making sure no-one had seen him do that, but it seemed no-one had.

_'Well,'_he thought,_ 'now I know that...'_

"Oi!_ Pass auf was du tust!_"he yelled, turning around to face the person who's legs he had tripped over. The person's head flashed up, tears flying from their eyes. Had this person been... _crying?_ They were dressed in an oversized purple hoodie, that bore the logo for one of the Universities in Rome, and tight black jeans. Their hood was pulled over their head, but Ludwig could see they were a brunette from their fringe, with childish, gold eyes. A blue messenger bag was on the ground next to them, and a red suitcase behind that. As soon as they saw Ludwig, they immediately went manic, repeating, "_Mi dispiace! Per favore, non farmi del male!_" over and over again. Ludwig's eyebrows furrowed. They were definitely _not_ speaking German. Another glance at the person's hoodie soon put him right though. They weren't German, they were _Italian_.

_'Damn! I don't know much Italian!'_he thought,_ '… maybe this will work...'_

He sighed, and using part of the only Italian he knew, Ludwig managed to say,

"_Parli inglese?_"

The person's head shot up, and they nodded slightly, stuttering out,

"S-si, I speak English..."

Ludwig noticed their Italian accent and high voice. Despite this, he thought this person may be a boy...

"_Gut_. You should watch what you're doing with you're feet! You'll end up breaking someone's neck if they trip like I did!"

"I-I'm sorry! I-I'll be more careful!"

Ludwig gave a firm nod to the boy and was about to continue on his way, when curiosity got the better of him,

"What are you doing out here anyway? Did you get caught in the rain?"

The boy shook his head.

"No. I'm waiting for my big brothers to come and pick me up. I was on a trip here with my University, and instead of going back to _Roma_, my brothers said they would pick me up here and we could spend the summer together, ve~!"

"Oh. How long have you been waiting here anyway, you look soaked?"

"About 4 hours I think."

Ludwig's jaw dropped in a very rare case of him acting undignified. _4 hours?_ How bad were his brothers? Not even Ludwig's bastard of a brother would leave him waiting _that_ long!

A sniffle and a sneeze brought him back to the boy. More tears were running from his eyes, and his cheeks and nose appeared to be slightly red.

"You need to get inside and change your clothes. You're going to get really ill if you don't."

"No, they'll be here soon! They promised me..."he trailed off and began to cry again, wiping his eyes on his already-soaked sleeves. Ludwig sighed and ran a hand through his slick hair. He didn't _really_ want to leave the boy here like this, but taking him home and making sure he was okay... just _really_ wasn't his style... but could he _really_ leave him here? 4 _hours_ was an awfully long time to sit in the rain... and despite it being summer, it wasn't particularly warm today either...

"H-hey, do you want to go to my apartment? It's not too far from here, and you can change clothes and warm up. You can phone your_ brüder_ too and tell them to pick you up from there."

The young Italian's head shot up, his eyes wide and a big smile on his face.

"Really? Ve~! I'd love to! Thank you!"he exclaimed, jumping up and latching his arms around Ludwig's neck. Ludwig blushed a furious pink, which turned to crimson when the boy stood on his tip-toes and kissed him on both cheeks, rather like a Frenchman, Ludwig noted.

"All right! All right! Get off before anyone sees!"he warned, looking around cautiously as he pushed the boy off him. The Italian seemed not to noticed Ludwig's discomfort though, as he hummed in joy, slinging his messenger bag over his shoulder and picking up his suitcase. He joined Ludwig under the umbrella, linking his arm with his, and trying to match Ludwig's long strides as they walked, still humming. Ludwig shifted uneasily as he glanced at the cheery boy who was clinging to his arm, unaware of how wrong their position could look to some. Still, the boy looked more happy than when he had first saw him, so he just let him be, instead taking hold of the boy's suitcase and carrying it himself, balancing it in the hand carrying his briefcase.

"Ve~ Thank you!"the boy smiled. Ludwig nodded, and then remembered something very vital that he did not yet know.

"I'm Ludwig, by the way. Ludwig von Schroeder. What's your name?"

"I'm Feliciano, ve~! Feliciano Vargas!"

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><p><strong><span>TRANSLATIONS<span>**

_Schei___ße__- Shit

_Pass auf was du tust!- _Watch what you're doing!

_Mi dispiace! Per favore, non farmi del male!_- I'm sorry! Please, don't hurt me!

_Parli inglese?_- Do you speak English?

_Gut_- Good

_Roma_- Rome

_Brüder_- Brothers_  
><em>

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><p><strong>I thought that was a pretty good place to end it, considering I've spent all day on the computer trying to write this XD ANYWAY, my geography around Berlin is <em>not good<em>, so my apologies for that (Google was no help at all ¬¬), yes, I did steal Ludwig's last name from the flamboyant German guy from Yu-Gi-Oh! (again XD) and I DID think about the fact that since Feli and Ludwig are from different countries, they shouldn't be able to communicate. That is why they speak English :)**

**Anyway, I'll try and get the next chapter up as quickly as possible, as I already know what I'm going to write for once XDXDXDXDXD**

**Bye! :D**

**Mew Mew Radish =^.^=**

**By the way, if any of my translations or German/Italian are off, please feel free to correct me! ^_^**


	2. Chapter 2

**Yeeah O_O;; I took a loooong time to update, didn't I? I'll let you get straight on with the story...**

**As always, _italics_ mean emphasis on a word, thoughts or if a character is speaking in a foreign language!**

**Disclaimer: Hetalia is not mine. I can live with that~**

**TRANSLATIONS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE (believe me, you're gonna need them ¬¬;)**

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><p>"Well, here we are."Ludwig announced, opening the door of his apartment. Feliciano stuck his head inside and let his eyes roam around, giving a small "Ve~!" in awe. Ludwig's apartment had been very expensive, costing him almost €5 million, but it had been worth it for the quality of the place. The living room had a large plasma TV on the wall, and a cream sofa and loveseat sat opposite. The carpet was very comfortable, and with each step, you sank almost to your ankles in it. The kitchen was conjoined to the living room, but one could distinguish where one room started and the other ended by the shiny wooden floor of the kitchen. Made from oak, it had a rich texture, and was pleasant to walk on, so long as you were careful not to slip. The oven, dishwasher, washing machine and cupboards sat in one corner of the kitchen, while a rectangular dining table resided next to a French window, which currently showed an amazing view of Berlin. Upon further inspection, one could see that the window extended around to the living room as well. Four white doors led off from the living room, and Ludwig could see Feliciano's eyes were now scanning them.<p>

"_Mein Gott,_ are you going to stand here all night? Get in!"he ordered, giving the Italian a light push into the room. He stumbled a bit, caught off-guard by the nudge, and promptly fell face-first into the plush carpet.

_'Thank God it was the carpet he fell into...'_

As Feliciano pushed himself back up, Ludwig took the opportunity to walk over to the loveseat, setting down the Italian's bags next to it, and his coat on it. He picked up the phone from it's dock, noticing that Feliciano was enchanted by his apartment. Watching the way his golden eyes scanned every detail of the room, the way his head tossed and turned to take in everything, the way that strange curl in his hair bobbed with each movement.

_'Heh, and you call _him _the enchanted one...'_

Ludwig frowned at his conscience. There was no way in _Hell_ that he was enchanted with that boy!

"Do you want to phone your _brüder _now? Then you can change your clothes while you're waiting for them."

Feliciano's head snapped around to face Ludwig, a ditzy smile on his face.

"_Si_, I'll do that!"

He walked over to Ludwig, his feet sinking into the carpet with each step, and took the phone from the German's hand.

**~APH~**

_'What the Hell? He's freezing!'_

Those were Ludwig's first thoughts as Feliciano's hand collided with his, as he reached out to take the phone. Quickly pulling the phone away from the young boy's hand, he placed it back into it's dock, leaving Feliciano with a confused expression.

"What did you do that for, ve~?"he asked, tilting his head slightly as he looked at Ludwig for answers. His reply came when Ludwig grabbed his wrist, shocked at the low temperature of the Italian. He proceeded to drag him towards one of the doors that led out of the room. Opening the door to the bathroom, he shoved the boy in, yelling,

"Take a shower and warm yourself up! You can phone your _brüder _after! I'll leave a change of clothes outside the door!"

A confused "Ve~?" was the last thing he heard from the Italian before he closed the door. He gave an exasperated sigh, running his hand through his hair and pulling off his tie. Could that boy not even do the _simplest_ of things, like wait under shelter in a rainstorm, or tell someone that he was freezing? Shaking his head, Ludwig removed his shoes and placed them next to Feliciano's bags. He picked up the suitcase and unzipped it, only to be greeted by a horrific sight. His clothes were a mess, jammed into the case without a care for how crumpled they could become, and this was the result. Ludwig heard the shower start up as he rummaged through the suitcase, tugging at items of clothing and trying to distinguish what they were. If he was going to give the boy new clothes, he certainly couldn't give him these...

Picking up a long-sleeved red shirt and a pair of white jeans, along with some white socks and underwear, Ludwig made his way into the kitchen. He retrieved his ironing board and iron from the cupboard, and set to work ironing Feliciano's clothes. It would just bug him if he walked around wearing crumpled clothes, that was just the way Ludwig worked. From the bathroom, Ludwig could hear his guest singing to himself, presumably some Italian song. His singing voice was admittedly quite a nice one. It was soothing, like the sort of voice you would normally have sing a lullaby, yet it also held a certain strength to it, one that was often looked for in classical or opera singers. Well, no matter how you looked at it, it was still better than Ludwig's.

**~APH~**

When the shower was finally switched off, Ludwig had finished the ironing a long time before, and the clothes sat neatly folded outside the bathroom door. The German in question sat on the loveseat, a book in one hand, and a glass of beer in the other.

"Ludwig, were are my clothes?"

He turned his head to see Feliciano sticking his head out of the bathroom door. His hair was wet and messy, yet that one weird little curl still stuck up.

"They're outside the door, like I said."

The Italian gave a look down, and smiled, opening the door in order for him to pick the clothes up.

"Ludwig ironed them too! Now they're not all crumpled, ve~! _Grazie mille!_"

Turning his head once more towards the Italian, he opened his mouth to say that it was nothing, when instead something completely different came out...

"_Scheiβe! _Do you have _any_ decency whatsoever! You're supposed to put a _towel_ around your waist!"

Granted, that had not been what Ludwig had wanted to say, but it certainly fitted the situation. He turned slightly pink and buried his head back in his book, as Feliciano went red and quickly dashed back into the bathroom, his clothes in his arms. Once the door was shut, Ludwig gave his second exasperated sigh since entering the apartment tonight, massaging his temples with his fingers. Sure when you're at _home_, it doesn't really matter, but in _another persons_ _home_, you're expected to wear at least a _towel_ around your waist when just having came out of the shower. But no, Feliciano went nude wherever he was, so it seemed.

As the Italian exited the bathroom, now fully clothed and with his old clothes in his arms, he smiled widely at Ludwig. He plopped himself down on the loveseat next to him, and the two sat there, in a kind of awkward silence. Neither knew why, they just didn't know what to say to each other.

"Do you want to phone your _brüder _now?"Ludwig asked, attempting to break the silence. As Feliciano nodded, he reached for the phone and handed it to him, saying,

"Give me those.", indicating the clothes in the boy's arms. The two exchanged items, and Feliciano began dialling the numbers of his brothers, while Ludwig examined how much Feliciano's clothes would need ironing. Not much, so it seemed, they just needed to be dried off...

"... Eh? _Ciao? Fratello, sei tu?_ Oh, Antonio! _Hola, ¿cómo estás? Esta mi hermano allí? O Francisco?_"

Ludwig listened to the boy switching between the languages. Whoever he was talking to was most likely Spanish, so it seemed.

"_Ciao Lovino! Quando vieni a prendermi? _Ti ho aspettato_ _per secoli_, _ve~"

He had switched back to Italian now. With his little understanding of the language, Ludwig didn't understand a word of what Feliciano was saying. Suddenly though, his face dropped from the smile that had stayed glued to him all the while.

"E-eh? ___Cosa? Ma avevi detto che avremmo passato l'estate assieme! Io, te, Antonio e Francesco! Si, sono dentro con qualcuno... No! Non postevo chiedere una cosa del genere! Fratello, è davvero maleducato! No, non attaccare! Per favore, vieni a prendermi!__ Frate-_"

It seemed now that the boy had been hung-up on, and with Ludwig still in the dark about everything, he turned to face him and asked,

"What happened? What did your _bruder_ say?"

"He... he decided to stay in Spain... with my other brothers... they were on their way up from Alicante to pick me up, but they got distracted in Barcelona, and they've decided to spend the rest of the summer there..."

Ludwig's eyes widened in shock. The poor boy... Those... bastards! How could they do something like that to their own brother? Feliciano was nervously fiddling with the ends of his sleeves, chewing on his lip, and the German could have sworn he saw tears threatening to spill from his eyes. He looked like an abandoned puppy, unsure of the harsh world or of what to do next. Ludwig felt some pity for the boy, and was about to say something, when the Italian spoke first,

"My brother... wanted me to ask you something... please, don't hit me if you find this rude, but... could I stay with you? Just for a little bit, until the end of summer? If I went home now, I'd be all alone, and my brother said he could come directly here at the end of summer for me! I won't be any trouble, I promise! Please, let me stay!"

Ludwig had to say, he was surprised at the boldness of the boy, asking something like that, as was he surprised at how quickly he'd gone from quietly asking, to full-throttle begging on his floor, complete with tears. The businessman found the sight before him a little over-whelming, but with the boy reacting like this, what could he do? He'd be as bad as Feliciano's brothers if he simply chucked him back into the rain, but he'd barely know him 3 hours, was it really wise to make decisions like this so suddenly? Sighing and placing a firm hand on the wailing Italian's shoulder, Ludwig spoke calmly,

"I've got a spare bedroom over there. You're welcome to stay for the night, given how late it is, and we'll sort everything out tomorrow, once we've rested up. _Fein mit dir?_"

Feliciano's face lit up once more, just like when he'd first found him, and he repeated the hug and kiss on the cheek he had given him too, causing Ludwig to go the same colour as before.

"Ve~! Thank you so much Ludwig! _Grazie, grazie, grazie!_"

Ludwig coughed awkwardly as he patted Feliciano's shoulder, prying the happy little bundle off him, and sitting him down on the loveseat. Feliciano's stomach growled as he did, causing him to giggle and blush slightly.

"Hehe, I'm hungry, ve~"

"Well, since you're my guest, I suppose it's only polite to let you choose what we eat tonight."

"Really? Yay! Do you have any pasta? I like pasta, ve~"

"Well... I don't have any pasta, but I could order a pizza if you like?"

"Ve~! That'd be great!"

Ludwig nodded, a small smile tugging at his lips as he set his book down and took the phone, walking into the kitchen to find the leaflet for the new Italian takeaway that had opened recently. What, you think that just because he's a rich businessman, he doesn't eat takeaway's on the odd occasion? As he found the leaflet and rang up the number, a noise from the living room momentarily distracted him. Feliciano sat as he had before, except this time, with his eyes scanning the pages of Ludwig's, what turned out to be, manga. The German immediately paled and then flushed a furious scarlet.

"P-PUT THAT DOWN, NOW!"

"Eeew! Ludwig, what's that guy doing? Why's the other guy not wearing anything? And why's he in chains?"

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><p><strong>TRANSLATIONS<strong>

_Mein Gott_- My God

_Brüder_- Brothers

_Si_- Yes

_Grazie mille_- Thank you very much

_Schei__β__e_- Shit

__Ciao? Fratello, sei tu?__- Hello? Brother, is that you?

__Hola, ¿cómo estás? Esta mi hermano allí? O Francisco?__- Hello, how are you? Is my brother there? Or Francis?

__Ciao Lovino! Quando vieni a prendermi? _Ti ho aspettato_ _per secoli_ - Hello Lovino! When are you coming to get me? I waited ages for you

__Cosa? Ma avevi detto che avremmo passato l'estate assieme! Io, te, Antonio e Francesco! Si, sono dentro con qualcuno... No! Non postevo chiedere una cosa del genere! Fratello, è davvero maleducato! No, non attaccare! Per favore, vieni a prendermi!__- What? But you said we could spend the summer together! You, me, Antonio and Francis! ... Yes, I'm inside with someone... No! I couldn't ask that! Brother, that's really rude! No, don't go! Please, come and get me!

_Bruder_- Brother

_Grazie_- Thank you

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><p><strong>XDXDXDXDXD Yeah, translations are over! I apologise for the big chunks of Italian and Spanish! I just wanted to keep it real, and two Italian brothers <em>would<em> converse in Italian, right?** **If any translations are wrong, please correct me, as I know that Google Translate is NOT reliable ¬¬**

**Oh, and I apologise also for the long wait ^^; Yeah, it's just that I'm back at school and have more homework than ever before, so writing gets a little tricky when that happens XD I have used the time wisely though :D I have planned out all of the story, what couples will be in it (you didn't think it would be _just_ GerIta, did you?), slacked off by watching Black Butler and Katekyo Hitman Reborn! *shot* and have planned all the family trees too~**

**Yes, this story has family trees, that's how awesome it is ;)**

**Anyway, I guess I'll see you all next time!**

**Mew Mew Radish =^.^=**

**EDIT: Thanks to **_Alexia-Esco _**for the correction of my Spanish, and **_Jetta-chan _**for my German****! :)****  
><strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Yes, I am back! I'll let you get straight on with reading. One thing though- consider this my Valentine's present to you, I don't know if I'm gonna have time to write anything else.**

**Disclaimer: No, Hetalia is not mine**

**Ditto what I said about _italics_ and TRANSLATIONS before. Except in the phone conversation, normal writing in an _italics _sentence is the foreign language (or emphasis) then.**

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><p>Golden sunlight poured through the gap between the curtains onto the bed, and onto the closed eyes of a sleeping German. He grumbled in his half-conscious state, and turned over, away from the light. In doing so, he found that his hand brushed against something soft and furry under the bedsheets. A few more strokes, and his mouth curled into a small smile as he realised that it must have been Aster, his beloved Golden Retriever. He was always snuggling under the sheets with him to keep him warm... he sighed contentedly as he petted the soft fur, listening to all of the soft moans that came from it.<p>

"Ah... ve~"

Ludwig's eyes bolted open. No, it couldn't be his dog! Aster was with his other dogs, at the main estate, with his brother! And dogs didn't speak! He sprung out of the bed, pulling the covers back and revealing a young Italian boy, clad only in his boxer shorts, soundly sleeping despite the commotion. Everything about yesterday came rushing back to Ludwig, from finding him in the rain, to saying he could spend the night. He did not however, recall saying that he could sleep with him.

"Oi! What are you doing in my bed? Get out!"

The young Italian did not stir. Instead, he turned onto his side and continued to sleep peacefully. Ludwig called out to him again, with just as little success.

"Fine. I guess I'll have to be a bit rougher then,"he grumbled. Leaning over Feliciano, he outstretched an arm, placing it on his exposed shoulder, and shook, "Feliciano! Feliciano! Wake up!"

Feliciano groaned and yawned, his consciousness finally sinking in and waking him up. Rolling onto his back to face Ludwig, he rubbed his eyes and smiled.

"Ve~! Good morning Ludwig!"

"Good morning. Now, would you care to explain why you are in my bed?"

"Huh?"

After looking down and around him, Feliciano's mouth formed an 'O' shape.

"Well?"Ludwig had never been a patient man, and the fact that this boy was about as air-headed as you could get did not help one bit.

"Well, last night when I went to bed, it felt really odd, because the room was all weird and big and different, and it was cold and dark and scary, and there was this weird noise coming from the kitchen, so I figured it would be okay to sleep with you for the night! You were already asleep when I went in, and you looked so peaceful and warm, so I just decided to join the peacefulness and warmth!"

Feliciano threw his arms up at the end, so as to exaggerate his point, and Ludwig's eyebrow gave a small twitch. This boy talked far too quickly for his own good. It probably wouldn't kill him to use shorter sentences either.

"So let me get this straight, you decided to crawl into my bed... because you were _cold?_"Ludwig asked slowly.

"Yeah!"

Personally, he found that reply far too enthusiastic.

"If you were cold, why didn't you put some more clothes on? You'll never be very warm if you always sleep in only your underwear! You could have just woken me and asked me to turn the heating up, anyway!"

"But Ludwig, you looked so peaceful, ve~! And I'm not used to wearing clothes to bed, at home I sleep naked!"

Too much information, Feliciano. _Far _too much.

"_Ja_, well... ugh, look, just get dressed, I'll go make some breakfast."

"Okay!"

It was as Ludwig stood up that he got a good look at the other boy. Despite claiming that he was cold, his face was clearly flushed, beads of sweat forming on his forehead, his fringe sticking to his cheeks. His eyes did not possess their usual drowsy and happy look; in fact, Ludwig could've sworn that they looked almost... _disorientated_.

"Feliciano, are you feeling okay?"

"What? Yeah, I feel fine, ve~!"

Liar.

Ludwig could see the strain in his smile. His breathing was becoming short and raspy. He was probably forcing his eyelids to stay open as well, if his constant squinting was anything to go by.

"You don't look 'fine' to me."

"No, I'm okay, I swear, ve~!"

Raising an eyebrow, Ludwig scanned the boy up and down. The way he said that... it was as if he was desperate for him to not find out... _pleading_ in a way, to convince him to leave him be. Sighing, the German placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Look, if you're not well, don't feel like you can't say so. The last thing I want is to have to deal with all the fuss if I have to take you to hospital."

Feliciano froze, hanging his head, his fringe covering his eyes. A silence filled the room, the air becoming tense and awkward. Slowly, he nodded.

"_Si_, I do feel sick... but don't worry about it, ve~! I don't want to bother you!"

"Look, it will bother me more if you _don't _tell me what's wrong. What's making you feel sick?"

"... I feel so cold, but my skin is burning, ve~!"he began, speaking and gesturing frantically, "And I feel so dizzy... my head spins when I sit up like this! And I can't breathe properly, my nose is blocked..."

Nodding, Ludwig tilted the Italian's face up and placed a hand on his forehead. Frowning, he moved it to his cheek. He wasn't joking when he said he was hot.

"Right, you need rest, you've got a fever. Lie down, and I'll get you something to cool you. Do you want a drink as well? Or something to eat?"

The boy replied, "Just a drink, ve~", as he clambered over the sheets, collapsing face-first into the pillow as Ludwig left to get what he needed.

**~APH~**

The sound of running water filled the kitchen, the only noise to break the silence. Outside, Berlin was already hustled with cars and people, on their way to various places throughout the city. Ludwig watched the antics of the street below from his French window, running a flannel under the cold water tap at the same time. Next to the sink was a tray, a glass of pure orange juice standing tall next to a thermometer, and a box of tissues.

_'8:30... not the greatest lie-in I've ever had.'_

Ludwig sighed as he made sure the cloth was suitably dampened.

_'Still, it's not like it can be helped. It's not Feliciano's choice whether he falls sick or not.'_

Ludwig considered for a minute.

_'What the hell am I saying, of course it's his fault! Any other person would've found shelter to wait under! It's his own fault if he can't wait somewhere else, especially at his age!' _

He growled. Arguing with himself wasn't going to help Feliciano. Slinging the cloth over his arm, he took the tray and went back into the bedroom, where the boy lay, in the same position. He set the tray on the bedside table and sat on the bed, shaking Feliciano's shoulder lightly.

"Come on, turn over."

He complied, staying silent, even as Ludwig pulled his fringe back and placed the flannel on his forehead.

"Ve~ Thank y-"he began to mumble, but his voice cracked, sending him into a small coughing fit. The boy sat up, using one hand to steady himself, coughing into the other. The flannel fell from his face to his lap. Ludwig rubbed his back, waiting for the coughing to subside, picking up the glass of orange juice for when it did.

"Eh... it hurts to talk, ve~"he mumbled, smiling slightly after the coughing had passed. Ludwig handed him the glass of juice, watching him as he drank it.

"As it stands, I can't give you medicine, not for a fever. That's the last thing I'd do before taking you to hospital. The best thing to do for now is to rest, and let it pass through your system."

Feliciano nodded, taking one last sip of the juice, before setting it down on the tray again. He picked up the thermometer, eyeing Ludwig warily.

"You want to take my temperature, ve~?"he asked, handing the instrument to the German as he nodded. The Italian opened his mouth and lifted his tongue, letting Ludwig set it in place before closing it again.

Another silence filled the room, this one not necessarily awkward, save for Feliciano's fidgeting.

The thermometer beeped, signalling that the temperature had been taken. Removing it from the boy's mouth, Ludwig flipped it over to look at the temperature.

38.0°c.

Feliciano was hopping up and down on his bum, trying to get a glance at the reading. Ludwig decided it would be best for him to not see how hot he was, in case he began to worry. Pushing him back down into the bed, he silenced the oncoming protest.

"You're very warm, but it's not serious."

Feliciano kept quiet after that, the flannel placed back on his head, and the duvet tucked under his elbows. He giggled childishly as the excess water trickled down his face, not bothering to wipe it away. Soon enough, Ludwig stood in the doorway of the room, thermometer in hand.

"I'll leave you to get some rest now,"he explained, "just call if you need anything."

"_Si!_"Feliciano saluted happily (albeit, with the wrong hand), and snuggled into the bed. Ludwig chuckled and closed the door, leaving the Italian to his rest.

**~APH~**

It was around midday when Ludwig decided to go and check up on Feliciano. He had quietly gone in while he was sleeping, to get some clothes to change into about 2 hours ago, but that was it. Knocking on the door, he waited for a reply. He got one in the form of a chipper, "Come in!", so, pulling down on the door handle, he entered the room. Feliciano was sitting up in bed now, swirling the last few dregs of orange juice around the bottom on the cup, occasionally peering out of the partially-open curtain that covered the French window. As Ludwig opened his mouth to ask how he was, Feliciano answered him before he asked,

"I feel so much better now, Ludwig, ve~! My head isn't spinning as much any more, and my nose isn't as blocked, and I don't feel as cold either! This juice must be _magical_!"

Ludwig gave a small smile as he walked over to the bed and sat on it, placing a hand against his forehead- the flannel sat on the bedside table.

"You don't feel as hot, either,"he said, "you should be fine in a couple of days."

"Ah, _grazie al cielo!_"

The boy looked so much happier now. His face may still have looked flushed, with some perspiration running down it, but his eyes had more focus in them, they looked sharper. Yes, he'd definitely be fine soon enough.

"Hey, Ludwig..."Feliciano started, turning to look directly at him.

"Yeah? What is it?"

"Weren't you going to... you know... sort everything out with my brothers today?"

"Oh, _ja_, I forgot about that. Do you want to do it now?"

"_Si_, they'll probably have been up partying all night, so they should still be in the hotel."

Nodding, Ludwig left the room, returning with the phone in his hand. He handed it over to Feliciano to dial the number, before taking it again and putting it onto the 'speaker' option.

_Ring ring..._

_Ring ring..._

_Ring ring..._

_Ri-_

"_Who are you, and what the fuck do you want, bastard?"_

Ludwig raised his eyebrows at the rude greeting, even more so considering it was in English. The voice was laden with a thick Italian accent.

"Brother, it's me! Feliciano! Don't be so rude!"the young boy looked exasperated as he talked to his brother, as though this was how he talked all the time.

"_Oh, it's you. Hey, Francis, Antonio, Feliciano's on the phone!"_

Two voices in the background mumbled something inaudible, and the 'beep' signalling the change to speaker phone rang out as footsteps became louder.

"_Hey, Feli! How are you?"_

"_Indeed, _mon cher_, how are you today?"_

The first voice had a rich Spanish accent to it- from what Feliciano has said on the phone yesterday, that must be Antonio.

The second voice was unmistakably French, and since he already had Lovino and Antonio pinpointed, that left him to be Francis.

_'Francis and Antonio... French and Spanish... no, it couldn't be, could it?'_

"_So Feli, how are you? You do have somewhere to stay, right? Lovi said you did, but I want to make sure that you're definitely fine stayi-"_

It was at this point that Ludwig interjected.

"Yes, he's fine to stay here, I just want to make sure it's fine with _you_, considering that you're obviously not very good to him."

An awkward silence followed suit, and Feliciano's face turned into a mask of panic. He braced himself, as if about to be hit, for a reason Ludwig understood moments later.

"_WHAT DID YOU SAY? I dare you to say that again, bastard, I _dare_ you!"_

"Well, it's true! If you were any good to him, you'd have come to get him, not get yourselves carried away in a city in a completely different country to him!"

"_You bastard! I love my brother, and I wouldn't do _anything_ like that! It's just that he's 18 now, for God's sake, he's got to learn to be more independent, and learn that things like this happen! He wouldn't like it here anyway, going around bars, clubs and casinos until daybreak isn't his style! So don't you dare say that I don't treat him right, you motherfu-"_

The sound of a hand slamming over a mouth rang down the phone, and Lovino was silenced, save for muffled whines and screams.

"_I'll go calm Lovi down. Can you take over from here, Francis?"_

"Oui_, you go calm your little tomato down, _mon ami_."_

The sound of a door slamming was heard, before Francis' voice filled the room.

"_You'll have to excuse Lovino, he drank far too much tequila last night. He's been in a bad mood all morning, and his temper's been shorter than usual. So, you are okay to take care of Feliciano? That is good, one less thing for us to worry about... He is still in Berlin, though, _oui_? _

"Yes, my apartment's near the centre."

"_Ah, _bon_... we will pick him up from there, then. We'll call back and arrange a date later, er, what did you say your name was again?"_

"I didn't. My name's Ludwig von Schroeder."

There was a pause before Francis spoke again, his voice curious.

"_Von Schroeder? You... you're not Gilbert's brother, are you? Gilbert Beilschmidt? Von Schroeder was his mother's maiden name, and he had a little brother called Ludwig..."_

Upon hearing his brother's name, Ludwig became sure of who Francis and Antonio were. He'd heard first hand from his brother about the joys of his college and university life, from partying until all hours of the morning before an exam, to his two friends, 'Franny' and 'Toni'. The three were better known as the Bad Touch Trio by their peers, although the Bad Friend Trio worked too. Yes, the Spaniard and the Frenchman were famous to Ludwig, and to talk to them at last felt a little... awkward... To think that the were relatives of Feliciano, too!

"_Ja_, Gilbert's my brother. I suppose you and the Spaniard are the ones I heard about so much when he came home from college and university."

"_Ah, this is fabulous! I haven't talked to Gilly in so long, and now his brother is helping mine! I should call him again soon, I miss that 'Prussian awesomeness' of his... Anyway, I must tell Antonio!"_

The clatter of footsteps rang from the phone as Francis went to fetch the other man, the conversation fuzzy and just audible in the background. Ludwig took this time to see Feliciano's reaction, noting that his face had twisted into a slightly confused look. He smirked slightly as the men appeared back at the other end of the phone.

"_So you're really Gilbert's brother? That's great! I never would have imagined that Luddy would be taking care of our Feli!"_

Ludwig grimaced at the nickname Antonio used.

"I'm going to assume Gilbert taught you that name, and ask that you don't use it again. And yes, I'll take care of him for the summer."

"_That's great, than-"_

"_HOLD IT!" _Ludwig and Feliciano winced as Lovino's voice rang right through them,_ "I don't trust him with my brother! If he's anything like Gilbert, he'll try to get Feli into bed, like the bastard tried with me!"_

"_Oh, come on Lovi, Gilbert was just joking that time! He knew you were with me, he didn't mean any harm... and anyway, as if you'd ever let anyone but me make you scream~"_

A moan from Lovino was heard down the line, and Francis laughed, telling them to "get a room!". Antonio accepted, and presumably dragged Lovino off, the moans getting louder, until a door slammed, and they were gone. Feliciano was giggling along with Francis at their antics, but Ludwig was horrified, his eyebrow twitching. An incestuous relationship? And neither Francis nor Feliciano did anything about it? He couldn't think of when he'd last been this disgusted...

"_Anyway, I do believe it's almost time for lunch now. I have to go, make sure I can get all of the good things from the buffet before the children arrive, and leave me with the scratchings... Well, I'll call you in a few weeks to arrange when to pick Feliciano up. Until then, Ludwig, keep my brother safe! _Au revoir!_"_

The line went dead before either could answer back, and Ludwig looked up to see Feliciano with a smile on his face.

"It's good to know they're okay, ve~!"

Ludwig however, was scarred from hearing Antonio and Lovino. Completely ignoring what the boy had just said, he asked in an accusing tone,

"What the hell are you and Francis thinking, letting the other two have a relationship like that? It's incest!"

Feliciano's face twisted into a confused look, his eyes open. Antonio and Lovino weren't in an incestuous relationship... Lovino was his brother, but Antonio wasn't... Oh. He called Antonio his 'brother', didn't he?

"No, no, you've got it all wrong, ve~!"he cried, waving his arms around frantically, "Lovino's my brother, Antonio's just a friend! He's just _like_ a brother to me!"

Ludwig blinked a few times as he took in the information. Only a friend? _Gott_, he must have sounded like such an idiot...

"S-sorry about that... I guess I got the wrong idea..."

"It's okay, _si? _I should have explained, I'm so silly. I'm related to Francis though, we've got the same mother, but he has a French father. My mother divorced him years ago."

Ludwig nodded and stood up, making to leave the room, the phone in his hand. He heard Feliciano giggling as he did, obviously amused over the whole 'incest' mistake. And so, he closed the door and left Feliciano to his own devices, sitting back down on his sofa, and picking up his book. He cringed slightly in doing so. The same book Feliciano picked up last night. It had taken some talking to convince him that he _wasn't_ a pervert, and that he _wasn't_ planning to do the things in that book to him. He'd have to be more careful where he left his literature from now on. Speaking of literature, Ludwig sighed happily as he remembered the lack of paperwork he had to do- none at all. It was probably a good thing too- being stuck nursing the Italian boy would probably take up his whole weekend. So much for kicking back and relaxing.

"Luuuuuudddwiiiiiiiggg! I ran out of juice!"

He growled, listening to the boy's whining. This was going to be one _hell_ of a fun weekend.

As he stood to go and get the carton, a dull thud came from his mailbox.

_'Great,'_ he thought, _'probably more junk mail.'_

Abandoning the quest to get the juice, he wandered over to his mailbox, only to find a large white package in it. Picking it up, he turned it over, finding a note on the bottom:

_Ludwig-san,_

_I am very sorry to have to give you this on your time off, but a large file of paperwork came in this morning, for the deal with Allies United, and it must be filled in immediately, and sent back by Monday. Please forgive me for intruding on your relaxing time._

_Kiku_

_P.S. If it is convenient, could you please return the book you borrowed from me on Monday as well? The newest volume was just released, and I wish to re-read the series before it arrives in the mail._

Ludwig huffed. Great. Paperwork. And Feliciano. And he still had to finish the book. But mostly the paperwork.

It really was going to be one _hell_ of a fun weekend...

* * *

><p><strong>TRANSLATIONS<strong>

_Si _- Yes

_Grazie al cielo_ - Thank goodness

_Ja_ - Yes

_Mon cher_ - My dear

_Oui _- Yes

_Mon ami_ - My friend

_Bon_ - Good

_Au revoir_ - Good-bye

_Gott_ - God

* * *

><p><strong>Yes... I apologise immensely for how long this chapter took, but I never said I would update this quickly. I'm going through a really crucial stage of school right now, and we're getting loads of homework dumped on us. Writing is something I can only really do in my spare, spare time.<strong>

** Anyway, yes, this story has Spamano :) I'm not sure if those two are in character, since I've never written them before. Also, I apologise if this chapter seems shoddy. I'm not tremendously proud of it, but it's the longest chapter I've ever wrote. It took up 8 pages XD**

**Anyway, I promise to update more quickly from now on! Please, leave a review to tell me what you think! ^_^**

**Radish xxx **

**EDIT: Thanks ever so much to **_Medea Gorgon_ **for correcting my Italian in chapter 2! ^_^**


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